Brindley Beach Vacations and Sales Blog

Running for the candy from the Candy Bomber at the Dare County Airport.

Making his 19th annual visit to the Outer Banks on Sunday, Colonel Gail Halverston and the Candy Bomber is one of those feel good stories that deserves retelling.

The year was 1948. A political iron curtain split the east from the west in Europe and in Germany the divide was particularly destructive. Germany was divided into East and West Germany and in the heart of East Germany, Berlin was also a divided city.

East Germany was controlled by what is now Russia, and hoping to gain complete control over Berlin, they forbid all land transport to the city.

What followed was the Berlin Airlift, a remarkable and successful effort to supply a city with a population of more than 1,000,000 the food fuel and medicine they would need to survive. From June 1948 until September of 1949, led by the United States, from the US, Canada, Great Britain France and Germany flew day and night to supply necessities of life.

Then Lt. Halverston was one of those pilots, and as he came into land at Berlin Airport, he saw children lined up at the gate. Knowing that the airlift was concentrating on delivering what the city needed to survive and candy for children was not on that list, Halverston decided to do something about that.

He began dropping candy with small parachutes attached to the children below. When his commanding officer found out what he was doing, the reaction was….unfavorable…until the American newspapers told the tale of the Candy Bomber.

Colonel Halverston, now 98 years old, was back again this year, in the same C54 that flew the Candy Bomber run 70 years ago.

The aircraft with four propellors, was once the workhorse of militaries around the world. Graceful and beautiful in flight, the Candy Bomber reenacts that mission or kindness every year, dropping candy for the children of Dare County at the Dare County AirPort.

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A differnet view of the Bonner Bridge, from the marsh to the west of the bridge.

The late fall has been tough on the Outer Banks as we’ve been hit with a number of storms. There was the remnants of Hurricane Michael back in October and more recently, last weekend we had a heck of nor’easter complete with wind gusting to 60 mph. We’re not expecting any thing like the winds we had last weekend, but the forecast for tonight and tomorrow calls for very heavy rains throughout the region.

Weather like that always effects things and according to NCDOT, the stormy weather has taken a toll on the timeline for cutting the ribbon on the replacement for the Bonner Bridge that spans Oregon Inlet.

At the time of the ground breaking ceremony in March of 2016, the somewhat optimistic grand opening date was late fall of 2018. More recently, that date was shifted to January of 2019. After assessing where how much work is left to do on the new span, NCDOT announced opening has been moved back to February or March.

The bridge itself is complete; what workers are doing now is removing construction equipment and some guardrail work.

After the new span is open, work will begin on removing the old bridge. NCDOT, working with North Carolina Marine Fisheries, will be using the material from the bridge to maintain and create artificial reefs in nearby waters.

The entire project, the new bridge and demolition of the original Bonner Bridge, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2019.

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Christmas is a time of tradition. That’s probably true just about everywhere, and it especially holds true on the Outer Banks.

One of the most special traditions are the Winter Lights at the Elizabethan Gardens on Roanoke Island.

At any time of the year the Gardens are worth a visit, but on a brisk winter evening when the paths are illuminated by thousands of multi-colored lights, magic happens.

The statuary is imbued with shades of green, blue and red; trees seem to sparkle with the light of a thousand stars; and throughout the Gardens are scenes of heron ponds, deer and elves.

It is a wonderful experience and one designed for the whole family.

In the middle of the great lawn there is a fire pit. Standing around the fire pit there are always six or seven visitors holding metal prongs with two marshmallows on the end, carefully roasting them over the flames.

Mostly it’s adults, offering the excuse that they don’t want children to burn themselves, but the adults always seem to end up getting one out of the two marshmallows.

There is a large screen with the original Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer playing. Away from the Great Lawn, Christmas music fills the air and couples and children stroll along the paths, talking about what they have seen and stopping to take a picture or two.

Winter Lights does run until mid January, but for anyone who is looking for a way to get into the holiday spirit, this gets our Brindley Beach Vacations full scale recommendation.

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This map seems to accurately tell what's happening on the Outer Banks right now. Note the arrow reading "storng winds."

We’ve got a heck of a coastal storm happening right now on the Outer Bank. A couple of the weather gauges we checked along the Atlantic Ocean were giving wind readings between 50-60 miles per hour. Some of those readings were sustained winds, not gusts, so yes, this is a pretty powerful storm.

Seas are running somewhere between 10’-13’—at least that’s the prediction. We’ll check in the morning, but right now the weather is so nasty if there is not a good reason to be outside, we’re not going.

This is the same system that seems to have dumped 18” of snow in some places in the western part of the state. They got the snow and it looks as though the Outer Banks got the rain…and a lot of it…and the wind.

Luckily just about every building on the Outer Banks is built to withstand winds in excess of 100mph and we’re not even close to that threshold.

The National Weather Service is predicting some soundside flooding. With the wind howling from the NNE, the northern Outer Banks where our Brindley Beach homes are located, should not experience very much flooding from the sounds, if there is any at all. Those winds from the north and northeast push the waters of the sound south so some areas of Hatteras Island may have some flooding and the mainland along the southern Pamlico Sound will certainly be impacted.

There is gong to be ocean overwash. There are some areas in Kitty Hawk and Nags Head that still experience that even with beach nourishment. Not nearly as bad as it once was, but the waters do find their way to the Beach Road in some areas.

Definitely a nasty night and it looks like some wind and rain tomorrow. A good time to crack open a good book, watch some football or basketball on TV or maybe just spend some time with someone special.

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Featuring a wide array of creativity from Outer Banks Artists, the 33rd Starvin' Artists Party was a huge success.

Going to the Starvin’ Artists party it’s a little bit difficult to know what is better—the art or the food.

Probably the art, but the food gives the artists a real run for the money…although the food is free.

But the art—wow, is it good. Some of the best Outer Banks artists were on hand this year. Stephanie Kiker came up from Hatteras. Dawn Moraga, Reddawn Designs was there,thresher artwork wonderfully primitive yet modern. Holly Nettles brought her Outer Banks landscapes.

There was some outstanding pottery, great jewelry—the list goes on and on.

One of the artists who really needs to be noted is Vic Berg. Vic has been a hunting guide for over 40 years on the Outer Banks and with the knowledge he as gained on the water, the bird carvings he does are amazing.

He also gets a special note because every year he brings something from the game he’s taken and includes with the food that’s offered. This year it was a spicy venison sausage stew. He did mention that it was his wife, Ellen, who made the stew, but regardless, it was good.

The party was held at Cozy Kitchens in Kitty Hawk this year and it really helped the event. In the past—probably in keeping with the theme of “starvin’ artist,” the event has been held in one of the artist’s homes.

That does seem to make things just a bit cramped, although it did create a very impromptu and improvisational feel—but really, Cozy Kitchens is a much better location. Hopefully they’ll be back next year.

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OBX Trio. One of a number of Outer Banks establishments featuring live music year round.

The days are shorter, it’s getting a little bit chilly …winter has come to the Outer Banks. It has slowed down a bit—not died, but certainly slowed down.

Of course this is the holiday season so there is still the excitement of Santa Claus coming to town…which he will this Saturday at the Kill Devil Hills Town Hall—which is great for the kids.

Adults may be looking for some different entertainment though, and even though it is winter, there is still plenty to do. As much to do as there is in the summer? Of course not, but on almost every night of the week there is some live entertainment. And if there isn’t live entertainment, there are some other fun things to do.

Most of the live entertainment is happening Friday and Saturday, although a number of restaurants and bars include other days of the week in their entertainment schedule.

There are updates and changes that are made, so instead of listing upcoming events, some quick notes about some of the places featuring music seems in order. This list is not a complete list, just an indication of what there is.

OBX Trio, Kitty Hawk

252.261.0277

A fantastic wine bar with what may be the largest selection of wines on the Outer Banks in their wine shop. Great beer selection as well. Music four night a week and be sure to check out their Champagne Brunch on Saturday and Sunday.

Beach Side Bistro (Sea Ranch), Kill Devil Hills

252.255.1063

Ocean front casual dining, with some of the best local talent performing on Friday and Saturdays throughout the month. A very pleasant atmosphere.

Rooster's Southern Kitchen, Kill Devil Hills

252.441.4594

Excellent southern focused cuisine with one of the best stocked bars around. Live entertainment Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Mulligans, Nags Head

252.480.2000

Serving what may be the best burgers on the beach. Definitely beach casual. A great place for a beer and some live music—which happens on Fridays and Saturdays.

Poor Richard’s, Manteo

252.473.3333

The bar is small and invariably packed when there’s live musicians on hand. Just adds to the atmosphere. A great, small venue for live music. Look for Mercy Creek on December 28.

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Just Playing Dixieland performed at the Town of Duck crab tree lighting.

The holiday season is officially here on the Outer Banks. Sure, Thanksgiving mostly marks the beginning of it, but what really says, “Christmas is coming,” are the tree lightings—and Santa sightings at Manteo and Duck.

The weekend is now complete—Friday night Manteo turned the lights on for their tree, and yesterday afternoon, Saturday, Duck lit up its version of a holiday tree lighting. Duck, which always seems to go its own way, gives the holiday lights nod to crab pots stacked up to suggest a Christmas tree.

The Duck celebration is about as different from Manteo as it could be, yet there is still a wonderful feeling of the best of small town life.

The event is centered around the Town Green. Music for the past few years has been provided by Just Playing Dixieland and this year it looked as though there were a few high school musicians in the mix. The First Flight High School Advanced Choir stopped by and they were very impressive, performing a number of songs with just their voices.

The Duck Crab Tree Lighting is always very dog friendly—and that includes a visit from the Dare County SPCA. This year they had two dogs ready for anyone who could take home good friend.